


Avoiding Obsolescence

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Series: T-2000 series [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), The Terminator (1984), Thor (2011)
Genre: Alternate Future, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Crossover, Machines, Terminator Darcy Lewis, Terminators, ignores Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-10 15:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2030448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Judgement Day never came, John Connor was off the grid and untraceable, and the T-2000 had to adapt. Darcy Lewis never expected to run into John Connor working for SHIELD eighteen years later, but the universe is full of unforeseen variables.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Avoiding Obsolescence

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I'm pretty pleased with this one. 
> 
> This fic acknowledges Terminator 1 and 2, but ignores Terminator 3 and any sequels, and also ignores the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Basically, it's a sequel to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, except that it takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
> 
> Okay, now some stuff about timelines, so bear with me. The Terminator takes place in 1984. In Terminator 2, John's age is given as ten years old near the beginning of the film. Therefore, the film is set at least ten years later, probably either 1994 or 1995. This would make John about 28 in early 2012, which is when this fic is set.

**Avoiding Obsolescence**

There had been a 67% probability of SHIELD employing Darcy once she had finished her degree at Culver, so it hadn’t been the complete surprise Coulson had seemed to think it would be, but all the same, Darcy was pleased when the job offer was made. The idea of working with Jane on her Einstein-Rosen Bridge research had appealed, and Darcy had taken the offer. Now she was standing at the heart of SHIELD’s research facility in New York, while Coulson showed her around the facility and ran through the basic induction material.

“So, this is where I’m going to be working with Jane?” Darcy asked, turning in a circle and scanning the lab she was standing in.

As laboratories went, this one was pretty high-tech, with a variety of scientific equipment. Some of it Darcy identified as Jane’s DIY astronomy kit, but a lot of it was the latest model in computing hardware, expensive and difficult to obtain. As Darcy’s gaze scanned over it, the specs for each piece of equipment popped up in her vision, was reviewed, and vanished from sight again. Darcy had seen more advanced, of course – Exhibit A being herself – but all the same, she was mildly impressed.

Darcy brought her gaze back to bear on Coulson, who was smiling slightly.

“That is correct,” said the SHIELD agent, as Darcy automatically scanned his expression, identifying the emotion there and analysing it. Coulson was pleased and slightly amused by her impressed expression.

“Your position as Dr Foster’s assistant should entail pretty much the same duties as being her intern did,” Coulson went on, “although you might need to familiarise yourself with some of the equipment.”

Darcy found the idea amusing, and snorted.

“Dude, there isn’t a machine in existence I can’t work out how to use,” she said. Most of it was obsolete technology in her time, of course, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t work with it. After eighteen years of existing in a world where Skynet didn’t exist, Darcy had gotten used to working with obsolete technology.

“That may be the case, but the bulk of Dr Foster’s computer work will be done by Dr John Roberts, who has been assigned to work with Dr Foster,” said Coulson. “Dr Roberts is an expert in programming computer simulations, which will be vital in the development and testing phase.”

“You guys really want Jane’s research to succeed, don’t you?” Darcy asked idly.

 “The creation and control of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge is considered a priority by SHIELD’s research and development department,” Coulson said diplomatically.

“In other words, if aliens are travelling around the galaxy by Bifrost, you guys don’t want humans to be the only peeps grounded,” Darcy translated, giving Coulson a knowing look. If Skynet had discovered alien lifeforms using an advanced method of interstellar travel, obtaining that method would have been a priority for Skynet, too. You never let a potential enemy gain any advantage over you. “So, where’s Jane and this Dr Roberts guy?”

There was a sound behind Darcy, and she identified it as the sound of booted footsteps. She turned around slowly, to find herself facing a young man aged somewhere in his late twenties, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. A SHIELD pass dangled from his jeans pocket, but it was at the wrong angle for Darcy to scan it. Darcy transferred her gaze to his face.

“That would be me,” said the man. “Dr Roberts. But hey, call me John.”

He extended a hand, and Darcy shook it, scanning his features as she did so.

An image in her memory banks was immediately flagged for comparison, and Darcy reviewed it. The man in the image was older than John Roberts, and was possessed of several facial scars that John Roberts lacked, but the similarity was nonetheless 86%. By removing the scars and taking into account the distortion effect caused by aging, the similarity shot up to 97%.

_Primary target identified._

Darcy went from coolly appraising to wide-eyed in less than a second. Her hand clamped around John’s in an iron grip.

“Holy shit, you’re John freaking Connor!” she exclaimed.

John Connor went tense at the same moment as Coulson.

“How do you know that name?” John asked, his eyes darting over Darcy’s form as he tried and failed to pull his hand away from hers.

_Secondary objective: Terminate the individual identified as John Connor._

_ERROR: Conflict with primary objective. Termination aborted._

“How do you think?” Darcy retorted, standing irresolute and conflicted in the middle of the lab, refusing to let go of John’s hand.

_Terminate._

_ERROR: Conflict with primary objective. Termination aborted._

_Terminate._

_ERROR: Conflict with primary objective. Termination aborted._

If possible, John went even tenser. He stopped trying to pull his hand free, and went very still.

“Coulson, please tell me she went through a metal detector on the way down here,” he said, looking wary.

Coulson blinked.

“You don’t think–” Coulson began, glancing between John and Darcy.

“Who sent you?” John asked, a note of command in his voice. “What are you? What do you want with me?”

_Delete secondary objective._

_Secondary objective deleted._

Coulson drew his gun, aiming it at Darcy.

Darcy blinked, and let go of John’s hand. He immediately stepped back out of range, shaking out his hand. He never took his eyes off Darcy.

“Miss Lewis?” Coulson prompted, glancing briefly at John before looking back at her.

Darcy shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter.” Darcy finally answered John’s question. He was watching her like a hawk, his eyes quick and intelligent. “Without Skynet, without that timeline, John Connor is… irrelevant.”

Coulson’s breath came in a quick intake of air at the confirmation that Darcy was a Terminator class machine, but John relaxed slightly.

“Oh yeah?” He tilted his head, eyeing her closely. “So what does that make you?”

He was perceptive, Darcy observed. Also, strangely unafraid.

“Obsolete,” said Darcy calmly. “Until I found a new primary objective.”

“What new primary objective?” John asked, his expression curious. Unlike Coulson, who still had his sidearm trained on Darcy, John seemed… unbothered by the fact that he was standing so close to a Terminator class machine, when he knew better than anyone what Terminators were capable of.

Darcy consulted her checklist of positive and negative human characteristics (each one assigned a numerical value based on its importance) assigned John a score, and evaluated the results of her preliminary assessment.

Darcy decided that John Connor was someone she could like. She put a hand on one hip, leaning all her weight on that side of her body, and prepared to explain.

“Well, humanity won, right? You guys defeated Skynet so completely that it never even existed. Human creativity and adaptability and the human phenomenon known as ‘luck’ triumphed over Skynet’s more advanced intelligence and technical capabilities. In the end, you proved yourselves superior,” Darcy said.

“Okay,” John said slowly. “But what’s that got to do with your primary objective, exactly?”

“I’m the only relic of Skynet’s existence,” said Darcy. “That means I’m no longer disposable. Therefore it is necessary to ensure my continued survival. The best way to do that is through infiltration and assimilation into human society. Thus, the totally awesome identity of Darcy Lewis!”

Darcy struck a pose that signified the vocal exclamation ‘ta-da,’ and performed the movement known as ‘jazz hands.’

Darcy scanned Coulson’s expression, and identified it as bewildered and incredulous. John’s eyes widened, and Darcy tentatively assigned a value of ‘incredulous’ to his expression as well, extrapolating from her previous experience of human expressions.

“Whoa, wait, your objective is to be _one of us?_ ” he asked. “To survive?”

“It makes sense,” said Coulson, still looking faintly stunned. “We’re the biggest threat to her survival. Blending in is the best way to survive.”

Darcy gave him an approving nod.

“Exactly.”

John was frowning, however.

“So,” he said carefully, “are you saying that as long as you survive, the potential for Skynet exists?”

Darcy gave a shrug.

“Well, no, not exactly. I mean, the potential for something _like_ Skynet to exist is still there – all you need is someone accidentally or on-purpose building a self-aware machine or computer network – but Skynet itself is definitely gone. But as long as I exist, I’m testament to the fact that once, Skynet ruled supreme, even if that timeline is no longer the dominant one.”

One of John’s eyebrows crept up.

“You believe in multiple universes?”

“The math is all there,” Darcy told him. “Skynet worked it out, like, ages ago. Probably could have visited other realities if they’d wanted to, but their focus was more on the viability of time travel.”

John’s expression darkened.

“No shit,” he said. He gave her a calculating look. “Okay, so you need to be like us to survive. What’s your actual opinion of us? You can’t have been here this long without developing one. If you can blend in well enough to fool someone like Coulson, there’s no way you haven’t learned all about emotions by now. I mean look at you, you’re practically the definition of ‘gone native.’”

John gestured, the movement encompassing Darcy’s form.

Darcy thought through and discarded several potential answers within a second.

“Honestly? I like humans,” she replied. “You’re admirable, okay? I mean, the way you can go up against a superior force and somehow win anyway, despite your limitations? That’s pretty cool. Besides, you have so much neat stuff like music and TV and the internet, and anyway, I wouldn’t even exist without your species. You people _built_ Skynet, a being who surpassed your own capabilities, and then somehow defeated it when that shouldn’t have been possible. How is all that not worthy of respect?”

“You guys do _respect_ , now?” John asked sarcastically, eyeing Darcy skeptically. “That’s an upgrade.”

Darcy arranged her features into a challenging expression.

“Dude, I have been stuck in a non-Skynet world for _eighteen years_ , learning and adapting. I do a lot of things that the average Terminator doesn’t.”

“That’s what she said,” said John. “Seriously though, you’re telling me you don’t want to destroy us all?”

“Well it’s not like Skynet is around, right?” Darcy told him reasonably. “Without Skynet, you guys are the next best option. The time for Skynet’s development has come and gone. Clearly, humanity are here to stay. So I adapted.” Darcy gave a small shrug.

“Okay then,” said John.

“That’s it?” Coulson was looking incredulous again. “You just found out she’s a Terminator, and you’re trusting her word?”

John sent him a dry look.

“Look, Phil, I know how you covert types work, but trust me, I know what Terminators are like. If she was going to kill me, I’d be dead already. Right?” he asked Darcy.

“Totally right,” Darcy agreed. “My secondary objective of ‘terminate John Connor’ conflicted with my primary objective, so I deleted it.” She eyed John cautiously. “So we’re cool now, right?”

A wry smile full of irony tipped up the corners of John’s mouth, and Darcy decided that she liked him.

“Yeah, we’re cool.” He punched Coulson gently in the arm that wasn’t holding a gun. “Right, Phil?”

Coulson shot him a look that Darcy identified as reprimanding, but finally holstered his weapon.

“If you’re sure,” he told John doubtfully.

John’s response was to step forward and sling an arm around Darcy’s shoulders. She decided that his boldness was worthy of admiration even as she glared at him.

“It’s fine,” John said confidently.

“Dude, remove the arm before I remove it for you,” she told him.

Grinning, John removed his arm from around her shoulders, and tucked his hands in his pockets.

“Okay, no touching, I got it. So what are you doing here, anyway?”

“I’m Dr Foster’s assistant,” said Darcy. “I used to be her intern, and since I know too much SHIELD decided to hire me to shut me up.”

“Wow, you guys hire an intern and get a Terminator for free,” John drawled at Coulson. “I’m kind of curious about how no one noticed there was a sentient machine wandering around one of your top-security bases, though. But maybe that’s just me.” He sent Coulson a smirk.

Coulson gave a long-suffering sigh.

“We’ll review our security procedures,” he conceded. He eyed Darcy for a moment. Darcy scanned his expression, and identified it as ‘wary.’ “We’ll be keeping an eye on you, Miss Lewis. John, I hope your trust isn’t misplaced. If you’ll excuse me, I need to alert the Director to this latest development.”

“So go,” said John, waving a hand at Coulson. Coulson rolled his eyes a little, but left the lab.

“I’m good at what I do, that’s how no one noticed me,” Darcy told John. “Anyway, enough about me, what about you? There is some serious cosmic irony involved with the idea of _you_ being a computer specialist, of all people.” Darcy poked him in the chest to emphasise her point.

John smirked.

“You’d be surprised. I’ve been hacking things since I was a kid, and eventually I popped up on SHIELD’s radar. They went through me and my mom’s files, read up on everything she’d told the psychiatrists while she was in the mental asylum, and managed to connect her story to some weird tech Cyberdyne Systems were studying before we blew it up. The first thing they asked me after they arrested me was how much of Mom’s story was true.”

An analysis of John’s posture showed that he was relaxed, leaning into Darcy’s space in a way that violated social norms, with the exception of cases of intimidation, friendship, and courtship.

Darcy further analysed John’s physical indicators, and removed intimidation from the list of possible motivations for his behaviour: he was too relaxed, his smile friendly rather than challenging, the physical closeness indicative of intimacy rather than intimidation. That left only friendship and courtship, and considering that she and John had only just met, friendship was unlikely – human emotional bonds took time to develop. They didn’t just appear immediately.

Of course, courtship seemed equally unlikely given his fraught history with machines, but Darcy reviewed John’s file and reminded herself that his life had once been saved by a Terminator unit, and that he was believed to have developed an emotional attachment to the T-800 which had been sent to protect him. Perhaps John possessed a residual emotional attachment towards non-hostile Terminator units, Darcy theorised.

John seemed unaware of his behaviour, however, so Darcy didn’t mention it. Instead she leaned a little closer towards him, to test her hypothesis.

Scanning John’s features, she found that his pupils dilated slightly and his breathing increased in speed by a minute increment. Hypothesis confirmed.

Okay then, Darcy thought. Courtship behaviour it was.

“So then what happened?” Darcy asked.

John shrugged.

“I ended up getting hired to work on SHIELD’s computer systems. SHIELD even put me through college so that I could get a degree in this stuff. They might do some pretty suss things, but as covert organisations go, they’re pretty much the good guys. I trust them about as much as I trust anybody, although Mom thinks I’m crazy.”

“Sarah Connor, mother of the leader of the Resistance,” said Darcy, bringing up an image from her memory banks. It was an old photograph, from 1994, not all that long before Sarah Connor had escaped Pescadero State Hospital. Each inmate had had their photograph taken for the hospital’s records. Sarah Connor had stared defiantly into the camera, even as her hair was a mess and the dark circles under her eyes spoke of sleepless nights.

A smile touched John’s lips.

“Yeah, she’s still pretty badass. Still running around off the grid, stockpiling weapons and shit. Going to be vigilant until the day she dies, is my guess.”

“She went through a lot,” Darcy pointed out. “You don’t just move on from that sort of emotional trauma.”

“God, you really have gone native,” John said with a snort. “Since when do machines understand about emotional trauma?”

Darcy poked him, and John took a step back laughing.

“I am a very advanced machine, thank you.” Darcy modulated her voice into a repressive tone. “Probably the most advanced machine out there.”

“I don’t know, Stark has some pretty advanced tech of his own,” John returned, smirking. “I heard he even has a fully-sentient AI, although it’s pretty hush-hush.”

Darcy experienced an emotional response equivalent to jealousy. She frowned in response.

“Really.” She narrowed her eyes in displeasure. “I’ll have to investigate that.”

“In the meantime, Jane Foster’s due back from lunch any minute now,” said John. “I assume that you want to keep your status as an assassination machine under wraps?”

“Hell yeah,” said Darcy. “Jane’s ready for a lot of things, but I don’t think I’m one of them.” She hesitated. “Just, before she comes back, I have a question for you.”

“Shoot,” said John, looking at her curiously.

“Well, I know how I avoided obsolescence,” Darcy explained, “but what about you? You were raised to be the leader of the Resistance against Skynet and the machines, and then that future never eventuated. How did you deal with that?”

The wry smile touched John’s lips again.

“Much like you, I guess,” he said reflectively. “I found a new purpose, doing something different. But I’ve never forgotten what I was raised to be.” He sent her a knowing look. “And I don’t think you have, either.”

Darcy reviewed her target location and termination protocols, which were as intact as ever, despite the fact that she hadn’t had need of them in years.

Instead of answering, Darcy stepped forward and linked arms with John. John watched her with an expression of amusement.

“Why don’t you show me around the lab before Jane gets back from lunch?” she suggested.

John snorted.

“Okay, let’s pretend that you can’t already identify every piece of equipment in here, sure,” he agreed, and yet again, Darcy decided that she liked him. “So, this is the spectrometer, but you already knew that…”

 


End file.
